KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The KC Wheel near Union Station is celebrating its first year in business this weekend and operators say year one was a giant success. "We've had hundreds of thousands of riders, it has 100 percent met our expectations," Karyn Wilder, VP and general manager, ICON Experiences said. Three-hundred and sixty-three days in operation since December 14, 2023 have meant 10 miles worth of climbing stairs to the 150 wheel's center, approximately 75 feet off the ground, to make sure everything is in working order before guests arrive. Visitors come from Kansas City and around the world for different reasons. What were America’s most-searched questions in 2024? "We've had so many chances to celebrate with people this past year with just coming out with friends, to proposals, to weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, gender reveals. If you can think of it, someone has celebrated it on the wheel this year," Wilder said. For one group visiting Wednesday afternoon, it was a team building event with corporate bosses from out of town. "They asked if there was anything fun to do out here and I said let's check out the wheel because they just built it and its super fun," Destiny Jackson said. "We know that there's so much to come in this particular area with Pennway Point and downtown continues to draw new business," Wilder said. Pennway Point was planning to open attractions this year, but the timeline was pushed back after developers found more underground infrastructure work than anticipated beneath the 120-year-old construction site. It later announced it plans to open a Neon Museum, a sand beach volleyball area, and a local family-owned Mexican food and dessert space in 2025. KC Wheel also has a 16-hole miniature golf course. Since its opening it has started serving food and drink and says it will welcome being part of a larger entertainment district. For now, it enjoys being connected through light displays that carry from KC Wheel and Union Station all the way downtown. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri "How Kansas City feels about Kansas City, its electric, its contagious and so much fun to see everyone come together for these small moments in time that just make up a bigger community," Wilder said. If you are thinking of coming into Kansas City's downtown and Crossroads area for some holiday festivities, you'll be happy to know the Ferris wheel's 36 gondolas are enclosed and climate controlled.